Size and location influence of opening on shear capacity of RC deep beams using ANN

The highly nonlinear behaviour of reinforced concrete deep beams with opening the web zone is a challenge for researcher to predict their nominal shear capacity. In the input data of the present work, both the simulated results of 210 specimens and 175 specimens with different opening shapes from experimental results are included. The correlation coefficient to predict the shear strength by the ANN model was 0.99 for training and 0.96 for testing. The opening’s placement and size, as well as the ratio of transverse reinforcement, are the main factors controlling the beam’s strength against shear. The opening’s placement is crucial, since it disrupts the force transmission way; openings in the centre of the shear zone reduce the beam’s capacity to support loads most significantly. This study aims to address the gap in the complex ANN model with a practical application. The innovation in this study depends on creating a simple Excel-based model that democratizes access to this technology, simplifying the efficient use of the model for any practitioner without advanced knowledge or signaling. This advanced shear force prediction enables practitioners to achieve safe and physically efficient designs without needing to depend on specialized computational knowledge.